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Colonial students attend Leadership Institute at Penn

Colonial School District ›  |  Posted on
PWHS leaders working on their project. Clockwise from left: Briana Martinez, Sia Tonguino, Emma Manley, Clancy Lynch, John Storti IV, Jesse Jaconski and Shantih Mangat. The team also includes Margaret Tomassetti and Iz Galleo.

Plymouth Whitemarsh High School (PWHS) and Colonial Middle School (CMS) sent emerging leaders to the Delaware Valley Coalition for Excellence & Equity (DVCEE) Leadership Institute at The University of Pennsylvania. There, the students heard inspiring presenters and brought back skills and ideas to make changes in their schools.

“It really was motivating and helped you think about who you are internally,” said CMS Student Amber Kinsey who particularly enjoyed a session on being a change agent. “Rather than just focusing on yourself, it emphasized how you can affect people as a whole.”

In addition to having sessions on leadership, high school students also spent time identifying a problem in their school and brainstorming a solution.

“I was actually surprised that they let us have our own free rein about what we wanted to do and how to approach the problem,” said PWHS Sophomore Emma Manley. “We settled on gossiping and mindfulness. From there, we had time to figure out an idea to attack the problem, figure out a game plan and make sure we were thinking the problem all the way through. It was a nice structure.”

Back at CMS and PWHS, the leadership teams will be working on spreading mindfulness and sharing how words and actions affect other people.

“I think it’s going to work. We’re bringing back more positivity and a commitment to having fun and doing the right things,” said CMS Student Jared Thomas-Payne. “We need to do what we’ve got to do to become leaders and show the rest of the school how to be leaders.”

Both teams will be working closely with the Friends of Rachel (FOR) Clubs in each building that were created earlier this school year as part of “Rachel’s Challenge” — a District-wide initiative to spread kindness and encourage a positive school climate.